Andre Türk is a professional e-sportsman under the name “Unlucky” and dedicated himself to his passion early on. But the dream of many teens is more than a full-time job.
GRAZ. Andre Türk has been playing video games since he was four years old, since he was ten he wanted to be a professional esports player. First, the now 18-year-old started an apprenticeship as a metal technician, when the opportunity arose to sign a professional contract as an e-sportsman, he was faced with a choice, Türk: “My father actually wanted me to finish my apprenticeship, but I really wanted to try it.”
“It was tough, but I’ve been telling my dad for a long time that I want to do this and it was continuous small steps, over and over again. In the end I was just stubborn.”
For years he has repeatedly expressed the desire to become an e-sportsman. Even if his parents didn’t quite understand this career path at first, he finally gained their trust. The first salary of his e-sports team was also decisive for his father’s consent to suspend the apprenticeship: “When he saw that you can also earn money with it, he said to me: ‘Okay, try it’. ”
Physical fitness among e-athletes
E-sports has many parallels to traditional sports, although the e-sportsmen compete in front of a PC or console, many skills are similar, Türk: “Teamwork is the biggest point for me, but you also need a lot of discipline and have to be involved Able to deal with criticism constructively.” Physical fitness also plays an important role for the Gratkorner, and he also meditates regularly, which would help with decision-making under pressure and ensure a clear head.
He is currently under contract with the British team Vexed Gaming and plays “Apex Legends”, a shooter in which teams of 3 fight against other teams of 3 virtually, and he streams almost daily on Twitch under his e-sports name “vUnlucky”. With his teammates he was at the last two global playoffs in London, the biggest tournaments of this “e-sports type”, but it wasn’t enough for the big hit: “That’s definitely a goal for next year, a win a LAN event.”
More than a full time job
The professionals invest a lot of time in this. In the intensive phases before the world tournaments, Türk had 60 to 75 hours of pure tournament preparation per week. This consists of training sessions, the so-called scrims, and video analyzes of games and opponents. In addition, there are also the hours that are streamed live weekly. For many athletes, as well as for “Unlucky”, the streams and building their own “brand” are an important career building block, because: “Every e-sports contract ends at some point”. At the moment he is proud to represent Styria and Austria on the big stage, because he is currently the only professional in his e-sports nationwide.
This might also interest you:
Hobby football is rolling again
On the wakeboard through the summer holidays
2023-08-16 04:01:37
#Andre #Türk #living #dream #teenagers #esports #career #apprenticeship
